“Oslo stories are an indispensable source for the history of peace research.” ⁠– Dr Olav Njølstad, Director, Nobel Institute, Oslo

​This open-access book explains how PRIO, the world’s oldest peace research institute, was founded and how it survived crises. The Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) is the oldest independent peace research institute in the world. In this book, many of its researchers and associates, including Johan Galtung, Ingrid Eide and Mari Holmboe Ruge, who founded the institute in 1959, tell the story of their role in the invention and development of research on peace. They reflect on their personal experiences with peace and conflict, recount what motivated their commitment to peace, and discuss the balance sought in the field between the cold dictates of academic rigor and the fiery pursuit of peace, a research desire to make a positive difference. Most of the chapters are interviews where one colleague interviews another. Some are self-reflective essays, while others are memorial essays written about a deceased peace seeker. Taken together, the book presents a vivid picture of a thriving world-leading research environment and a wealth of conflicting or mutually reinforcing perspectives on war, violence, conflict, conflict management and resolution, negotiations and mediation, peacemaking, peacebuilding and protest. concept of peace.